Monte Carlo 2026 - Masters 1000 Preview

Here is my Preview of the Monte-Carlos Masters 1000 tournament.

According to data from the last two years, Monte-Carlo is played on slow clay courts.

It’s the slowest clay-court Masters 1000. 

Speed Data

These are the stats of the last 5 years:

• 67.1% Points won on the First Serve
• 73.2% Service Holds
• 0.30 Aces/Game
• 0.15 TB/Set

Past Winners 

2025: Alcaraz d. Musetti

2024: Tsitsipas d. Ruud

2023: Rublev d. Rune

2022: Tsitsipas d. Davidovich

2021: Tsitsipas d. Rublev

Nadal has won this tournament 11 times. The last time he did it was 2018. 

Weather

Monte Carlo looks mild and very playable next week, with stable spring conditions overall. Temperatures will sit mostly around 18–20°C (64–68°F), very consistent across the week. Winds are generally light to moderate, around 8–15 km/h (5–10 mph), occasionally picking up slightly towards the weekend but nothing disruptive. Humidity stays in a moderate range, roughly 50–70%, a bit higher earlier in the week and slightly drier towards Saturday–Sunday.

Player Statements

Medvedev, 2025: "I think Karen hit just the one ace, and he’s a big server, so it’s pretty slow."

Hurkacz, 2024: "The conditions are always a bit different. Even though it’s clay. Here it’s actually a bit less slippery than Estoril. The balls are flying differently. It’s not easy. You come a day before the match, you won the tournament but you’re a little bit behind here."

Fritz, 2023 (after losing to Rublev): "I just think the conditions in general were tough. It was super cold. You know, people probably don't realize how big of a difference it can make. I felt like the ball compared to yesterday just wasn't really going anywhere, so we were playing much longer points."

 A. Zverev, 2022: “Here where it's a little bit slower I think than other clay courts that we play on.”

 Fritz, 2022: "The courts are different to Houston last week, where they are much quicker. Its almost a completely different surface. It was more like a hard court last week."

 Evans, 2021: “Obviously clay is not my favorite surface. But I think the conditions have actually suited me this week. It's not been very warm. The ball stayed low. I'm moving way better on the clay.”

 Auger-Aliassime, 2021: “The conditions were different because yesterday was a rainy day. The ball didn't bounce that high. Conditions were slower. It was different. I can't say it was better or worse. Today was good for me too. I was happy to see the sun and more normal conditions.”

Summary

Monte Carlo has one of the slowest conditions tournament on the circuit. Taking the last 5 years, there are only 4 tournaments with a less percentage of First Serve Points Won.

This week we will have moderate temperatures in Monaco, so it seems we won't see extreme conditions in either side. So neither too much heat, which would cause the ball to shoot off the ground and bounce very high nor too much cold or humidity, which would cause the opposite.

So, if the weather conditions do not change, average clay conditions this year, obviously favourable for pure clay courters. And probably less chances for those players who prefer quicker surfaces and that, with the sun and heat, and a big serve, could have more chances.

Monte Carlo hasn’t been historically a favorable tournament for underdogs. I’ll send you more info tomorrow.

Draws

Here’s the links to the draws, that you can check it anytime to follow the latest updates and see which players advance through each round. 

• Main draw: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/410/mds.pdf
• Qualifying draw: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/410/qs.pdf